A MASKED gang rampaged through a block of Liverpool flats looking for an alleged drug dealer.

Up to four men kicked their way into the block, on East Prescot Road, Old Swan, and began systematically smashing into the flats.

Armed with a metal bar and possibly a samurai sword, the gang, all wearing balaclavas, reportedly ran through the building screaming “Where’s Paddy? Where’s Paddy?”

They broke into one flat and confronted a terrified family before ransacking another, taking the occupant’s car keys.

They ran out but came back later to take the car while the police were taking statements from those in the block.

One witness, who has had to flee his home of five years because he is so traumatised by the experience, said: “They were just smashing their way through the block.

“They didn’t care who they found. They just went in the first door they came across and carried on going looking for this ‘Paddy’, going from the bottom to the top.

“Everyone has been left terrified by it. I wouldn’t go back. I booked myself into a B&B and now have got myself a new flat.”

It is believed the gang arrived at the scene at around 10pm last Wednesday in a black Subaru Impreza and used the same car to make their getaway before coming back to take a silver Mercedes SL500 which has the distinctive registration plate of 1AO.

Police now want to know if the Mercedes has been parked up anywhere or dumped.

As they were conducting inquiries at the scene, police arrested 28-year-old Patrick Hill and recovered a substantial amount of what is believed to be Class A drugs.

Hill was questioned before being charged with possession with intent to supply. He appeared in court on Friday and was given conditional bail until October.

A Merseyside police spokesman said: “It is believed that one of the men was armed with a metal bar. Nobody was harmed during the incident, though residents were left distressed by the events.”